Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 3:3:
Kupsabiny: “So Moses thought in himself/his stomach that, ‘This thing is strange. How come the fire is burning/shining but the bush is not burning (up)? Let me go near to see well.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So Moses thought, ‘I’ll go near and see such a strange fire. Why is nothing happening to the bush?’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He said, ‘Amazing! Why does- that bush not -burn-up? I will-go-closer and look-at-(it).’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Bariai: “And then he said, ‘How is this thing? Why is it that the fire doesn’t cook that tree? I will go close to see.’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Opo: “Therefore, Moses say «I will go see that which fire not for it tree consumes!»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
English: “Moses/I thought, ‘I will go closer and try to see this strange sight! Why is the bush not burning up?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
And Moses said may simply mean that “he thought,” since he was probably alone except for the animals. In many languages it will be better style to place the words “Moses said [or, thought]” at the beginning of the verse rather than in the middle as Good News Translation does. I will turn aside is very literal; it means to change one’s direction or, in this context, “I will go closer” (Good News Translation). The Hebrew uses a particle here that is difficult to translate, but it conveys a sense of urgency. Some translations try to bring this out with the use of “must,” as in New Jerusalem Bible, “I must go across and see.” This great sight should be understood as “strange” (Good News Translation), “marvelous” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “wonderful” (New English Bible), or “remarkable” (New American Bible).
If it is unnatural to retain the direct speech when one is talking to oneself, the third person may be used. Thus the entire verse may be phrased as follows: “Moses thought it was very strange that the bush was not burning up, so he decided to go closer to investigate.” However, translators may find it more natural style to follow Revised Standard Version‘s word order; for example, “Moses decided to go closer to the bush and investigate, because he thought it was very strange that it was not burning up.” It is also possible to translate using direct speech: Moses thought, “Hey! I’m going to go closer to the bush and look. It’s very strange that this bush isn’t burning up!”
Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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